Wiring terminal for electrical fittings



H. HUBBELL Filed Sept. 20, 19s:

[Newer/01v INVENT R.

N w 2 r m a m a W m 1 1.. I 4 a w 2 Z I f! 2 I ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 8, 1940.

WIRING TERMINAL F OR ELECTRICAL FITTINGS hatentcdocaaieco UNl'lED STATE Harvey Hubbell, Bridgeport, Conn.

2,216,740 WIRING TERMINAL son ELECTRICAL FITTINGS riam Application September 20, 1937, Serial No. 164,632

Claims.

This invention-relates to new and useful improvements in electrical fittings, and has particular relation to a wiring terminal for electrical fittings.

- An object of the invention is to-provide a wiring terminal by means of which wires may be quickly and securely attached to or connected with an electrical fitting and without wrapping them about binding screws.

-Another object is to provide a means having the characteristics'stated and which is of simple and economical construction.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the invention is shown. However, it is to be understood that .the invention is not limited to the detailsdisclosedbut includes appended claims.

In the drawing:

ward end is spread or riveted over as shown at ltb and the forward portion of the rivet is drilled and'tapped as shown at I50 to receive the securing screw oi the usual finishing or face plate, not shown. I

Mounted on the body H are a pair of similar contact members It and I! each at its respective ends carrying yieldable resilient or spring contacts 18 positioned to be engaged by contact blades of attachment plug caps inserted through entrance slots l9 inthe forward face of the body H. Intermediate its ends body His provided with similar recesses and 2Iwhich are somewhat wedge shaped-or tapered in transverse section, and which open through the sides. of the body. Intermediate portions 22 and 28 of the contact members l6 and. i1 respectively span the openends of the recesses 20 and 26 at the sides of body H.

all such variations and modifications as fall with- Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a wall receptacle having the invention incorporated therein, parts being broken away to show the construction; i Y

Fig. 2 is a rear plan viewof the receptacle; Fig. 3 is aview looking into the body or forward. portion of the receptacle, the back closure plate i "being omitted;

A Fig. 41s a transverse sectional view taken along I g the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 3 but through i the complete receptacle and showing wires con- 5 nected with the receptacle contact members;

Fig. dis a detailed side elevational view, on an enlarged scale, showing the terminal; and

Fig. 6' is a detailed sectional view taken along the line 6-8 of Fig. 3.

While the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing and herein described as embodied in a wall receptacle it is to be understood that the invention is not limited .to such an application as it may be used in other types of elec- 5 trical fittings.

. erally designated Iii is shown' as including a forward orbody portion H' and a rear or closure p portion l2 each formed, as for example by molding, of suitable insulatingv material. The mentioned parts are provided with web portions I3 and il which in the assembled device abut as shown in Fig. 4 and the 'parts may be secured together as by a screw or rivet l5 extending through member i2 and the usual mounting yoke I2 against which its head its seats. The ior- In the-drawing-a receptacle gen- I ing inclined edges corresponding with the incline Such intermediate portions of the contact members are of considerable depth beingoi much greater width than the adjacent bar-like pox-'- tions of the contact members as shown in Fig. 5 and their central portions are also ofiset outwardly from the ends of the body recesses and 2| as indicated at 24. The sides 24 of the mentioned intermediate offset portions are inclined as shown best in Fig. 6 and rest against the similarly inclined side walls 20a and 2ia oi the recesses 20 and 21 outside the longitudinally extending narrow grooves or recesses 8 in the body H which receive the narrow connecting bars l8a and IIa. of the contact members connecting the intermediate portions 22 and 23 with the. spring contacts It. Through each of the portions 22 and 23 is passed the shank of a screw 25, and the heads of such screws are disposed at the outer sides of such portions whereby the screws may be operated from outside body ll It is to be noted that the shanks of the screws extend into the recesses 20 and 2i, and within such recesses the said shanks-are threaded into floating clampmg members 26.

. Members 26 (see Fig. 6) are wedge shaped hav-" of the side walls of the recesses 20 and 2| whereby said members may not turn about the screw shank in the recesses. Each member 28 has its intermediate portion offset or bent inwardly as at 21 and opposite such portions of the members 28, the portions Hand 23 of the contact members are provided with ribs 2 proiecting toward such offsets. The heads of screws 2| are adjacent the outer sides of the body II and it will be clear that onturningolthelcrewlinonedirectionor u ceptacle immediately in the rear of or at the inner side of the offset portions of the contact members l6 and I I and adjacent inclined offset walls 24. These openings are in pairs so related that when wires 30 are inserted through a pair of the openings one wire will have its end disposed at one side of the shank of screw while the other wire will have its end located at the other side of the shank of the same screw.

When installing the receptacle it is but necessary to strip the insulation from the ends of the wires to be connected with the contact members l6 and i! as the ends 38 of wires 3| are stripped. Then such stripped ends are inserted through the openings 29 into the receptacle and enter between the oiiset portions 22 and 23 of the contact members and the floating members 26, they being guided by the inclined oifsets 24. The screws 25 are then tightened and draw the floating members 26 toward the contact members in a manner whereby the stripped ends 30 of the wires are clamped between the contact members and the floating members. Owing to the offsets 21 and the ribs 28 the clamped or gripped ends of the wires are crimped or bent as shown in Fig. 4 and so are held against casual release and are prevented from turning.

- close to the screw shank whereby the maximum clamping efiort or leverage is obtained and ex erted to securely hold the wires in engagement or contact with the members l6 and I1, and there is little danger of bending clamping members 26. It is noted that the relatively wide contact portions 22 and 23 stop short of the bottoms of ,the recesses 20 and 2! whereby when the wires are properly or completely inserted into place between such contact portions and the floating member 26 the extreme ends of the wires are visible from the exterior of the receptacle, they being exposed below ends 34 01' the contact portions 22 and 23 as shown in Fig. 5. Thus it is very easy for the electrician to see whether the wires have been inserted to the proper position, orthat is, far enough to make sure they are properly gripped or fastened when the'screw is tightened.

Across the back or rear of the receptacle extends the mounting strap or yoke 32 which may be of any or the usual construction. Receptacle portion I2 is built up betweenthis strap and the openings 29 as shown at 33 whereby in the event that a slight extra amount of the wire has had the insulation stripped therefrom such exposed portion of the wire is kept from contact with the mounting strap.

From the above it will be understood that when making an installation involving the new terminal the electrician is not required to wind the lead-in wires about terminal posts and then tighten the latter. He merely inserts through the openings 29 the end e wires from which the insulation has been stripped, and when the extreme ends 01' such wires may be seen beyond the ends 34 of the portions 22 and 23 of the contact members the wires are in place, and after the screws 25 are tightened the proper'connec- 'tions have been made. It will also be seen that a single screw secures both wires thus reducing the work required in making the connections. As the ends of the wires are crimped in by the ribs 28 the wires are securely held. It will thus m be seen that with my improved wiring terminal the necessary connection to a fltting may be quickly and securely made.

Having thus set forth the nature of my inven- Y tion, what I claimis:

1. In an electrical fitting, a body of insulating material having a recess therein opening through a side thereof, a contact bar on said body including a portion spanning the open side of said recess, said spanning portion of the bar comprising a relatively wide portion, a screw passing through said portion to one side of the bar proper and havingits shank in the recess, a floating member on the screw within the recess and shiftable by the screw to -clamp a wire against said bar portion, said body having an opening positioned for the insertion of a wire end between said floating member and said bar portion, said recess being of such depth as to expose the end of said wire below said relatively wide bar' portion when the wire is fullyinserted into place between the member and bar portion, and said bar portion being ofiset outwardly with respect to the recess and having its sides inclined to direct inwardly toward the shank of said screw anywire inserted through said opening.

2. In an electrical fitting, a body of insulating material having a recess therein opening through a side thereof, a contact bar including a portion spanning the open side of said recess, a screw passing through said spanning portion of the bar and having its shank in said'recess, a

floating member on the screw withinthe recess insulating material having a transversely extending tapered recess opening through one side thereof, a contact in said body including a bar member extending across said-recess, a floating member in the recess at one side of said bar member and guided by the sides of the recess, a-binding screw in the recess accessible for operation through the opening at'the side of the body, said screw extending through one of the members and threaded in the other member to clamp the free ends of I a plurality of lead wires between said members, and one of said members being offset on opposite sides of the screw to provide guide shoulders for the free ends of the lead wires and arranged with said offsets seated against the side walls of the recess.

floating member in-the recess at theropen' side of saidofiset portion and guided .-by'-the side walls "of the recess, a binding screwinthe recess accessible for. operation through the opening at the side of the -body, said screw extending through one of said members and threaded into the other member-to clamp'the free ends of a plurality of lead wires between said'members, and the inclined side walls of the'ofiset .portion providing guides for the free ends of the lead wires to guide them inwardly toward the screw-when they are inserted between the members.

5. An electrical fitting comprising a body of insulating material having a transversely extending recess opening through one side thereof, contacts in the body connected by a bar portion located in and extending across the recess, a. floating member in the recess at oneside of the bar member-and guided bythe sides of the recess, a

binding screw in the recess accessible for opera- 

